Patrick Wren, former senior multiplayer designer on Halo Infinite, has joined Respawn Entertainment to work on a Star Wars game.

Revealing his new role on Twitter, Wren said “I am happy to announce that today is my first day on the Jedi team as a Senior Encounter Designer”. The ‘Jedi team’ would suggest that Wren is working on a sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order, which EA has previously confirmed to be the first game in a new franchise.

I am happy to announce that today is my first day on the Jedi team as a Senior Encounter Designer @Respawn. I am so excited to be back on Star Wars and work with this incredible team. pic.twitter.com/JItAkdB5xa

— Patrick Wren (@Witdarkstar) November 8, 2021

Wren also notes that he’s “excited to be back on Star Wars”, referring to his time working on Star Wars: First Assault, a game that was in development at LucasArts in 2013 but was cancelled as part of the Disney acquisition of the Star Wars brand.

Wren moves to Respawn Entertainment from his previous role at 343 Industries, where he worked first on Halo 5: Guardians and then on Halo Infinite. On Halo Infinite he acted as a senior multiplayer designer, but his new role sees him designing combat encounters for whatever unannounced game the Jedi team are currently working on.

Disney has teased a Star Wars video game announcement for December, and so it may be that we see what Respawn is working on soon. Its Star Wars and Apex Legends commitments unfortunately means that Respawn doesn’t have the resources to work on Titanfall 3, but it does means we'll be seeing more from the Jedi: Fallen Order series, a game we gave a glowing review.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Modders have managed to restore Mass Effect’s lost DLC pack, Pinnacle Station, and add it to the PC version of Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Released on November 7 (N7 Day), the DLC was restored by the ME3Tweaks group, a team of modders that have worked on Mass Effect mods for years. Discussing the project in a blog post, modder Mgamerz noted that “This has been the most ambitious modding project I’ve taken on before, as it touched pretty much every aspect of design. We had to design multiple new custom classes, code a very complex porting pipeline, improve our tools to find assets easier, invent new debugging tools, and more.”

Pinnacle Station was originally released for the first Mass Effect game in 2009, and is a fairly simple combat simulator mode. Success in the simulator will unlock Shepard’s Apartment, a small home base. It was developed by Demiurge, who also ported Mass Effect to PC. The source code for Pinnacle Station has since been lost, hence why the PS3 and Legendary Edition versions of Mass Effect 1 do not include it. But the ME3Tweaks group have been able to use their tools to port the DLC from the original PC version of Mass Effect into the Legendary Edition.

In addition to simply getting the DLC running in Legendary Edition, the modding group has also put significant effort into making the DLC a better experience. Pinnacle Station originally had very little audio, with no music during combat, and so the modders have chosen tracks from the score that feel appropriate for each map. There has also been significant work put into difficulty scaling, as the original’s Volcano Hunt Insanity mode was overly punishing due to how quickly time would run out, and the Survival mode could be easily cheesed by simply not engaging enemies. Now, Volcano Hunt Insanity has been toned down by reducing the time decay awarded per kill, providing a little extra time to kill the required enemies before time runs out. Survival now forces enemies who haven’t been killed after 25 seconds to charge at you, which makes it a more interesting challenge.

A large variety of other fixes have been made, including reducing texture pop-in, fixed lighting, dialogue wheel glitches, and bugged character models. The team also discovered a large amount of cut content, which suggested that Pinnacle Station originally was meant to be a more story-heavy piece of DLC than it eventually became. While much of that content cannot be restored because it’s impossible to see the full script, the team has been able to restore some cut Turian bomber ships that were meant to fly across Ahern’s map. The team notes that there’s no audio feedback on these bombers, but they will try to improve this in future updates.

For more from Mass Effect Legendary Edition, check out our reviews of the first, second, and third games and how their remaster treatments fare, as well as the news that sales were “well above” expectations. If it’s the future of Mass Effect you’re interested in, then take a look at the poster that teases the future of the series.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Modders have managed to restore Mass Effect’s lost DLC pack, Pinnacle Station, and add it to the PC version of Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Released on November 7 (N7 Day), the DLC was restored by the ME3Tweaks group, a team of modders that have worked on Mass Effect mods for years. Discussing the project in a blog post, modder Mgamerz noted that “This has been the most ambitious modding project I’ve taken on before, as it touched pretty much every aspect of design. We had to design multiple new custom classes, code a very complex porting pipeline, improve our tools to find assets easier, invent new debugging tools, and more.”

Pinnacle Station was originally released for the first Mass Effect game in 2009, and is a fairly simple combat simulator mode. Success in the simulator will unlock Shepard’s Apartment, a small home base. It was developed by Demiurge, who also ported Mass Effect to PC. The source code for Pinnacle Station has since been lost, hence why the PS3 and Legendary Edition versions of Mass Effect 1 do not include it. But the ME3Tweaks group have been able to use their tools to port the DLC from the original PC version of Mass Effect into the Legendary Edition.

In addition to simply getting the DLC running in Legendary Edition, the modding group has also put significant effort into making the DLC a better experience. Pinnacle Station originally had very little audio, with no music during combat, and so the modders have chosen tracks from the score that feel appropriate for each map. There has also been significant work put into difficulty scaling, as the original’s Volcano Hunt Insanity mode was overly punishing due to how quickly time would run out, and the Survival mode could be easily cheesed by simply not engaging enemies. Now, Volcano Hunt Insanity has been toned down by reducing the time decay awarded per kill, providing a little extra time to kill the required enemies before time runs out. Survival now forces enemies who haven’t been killed after 25 seconds to charge at you, which makes it a more interesting challenge.

A large variety of other fixes have been made, including reducing texture pop-in, fixed lighting, dialogue wheel glitches, and bugged character models. The team also discovered a large amount of cut content, which suggested that Pinnacle Station originally was meant to be a more story-heavy piece of DLC than it eventually became. While much of that content cannot be restored because it’s impossible to see the full script, the team has been able to restore some cut Turian bomber ships that were meant to fly across Ahern’s map. The team notes that there’s no audio feedback on these bombers, but they will try to improve this in future updates.

For more from Mass Effect Legendary Edition, check out our reviews of the first, second, and third games and how their remaster treatments fare, as well as the news that sales were “well above” expectations. If it’s the future of Mass Effect you’re interested in, then take a look at the poster that teases the future of the series.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

IGN is pleased to exclusively reveal that Naraka: Bladepoint’s next character is Yueshan, a hero based on Chinese history.

Yueshan’s design has its roots during China’s warring states period. Developer 24 Entertainment notes that he’s dressed in lamellar armour, and is able to shoulder charge enemies in order to knock them over and land a blow while they’re stuck on the floor.

For his ultimate ability, Yueshan is able to transform into a Terracotta warrior and use a huge, flaming halberd to cut down enemies. You can see him in action in the trailer above, which sees him cutting through enemies and leaving trails of fire with each swing of his polearm weapon.

Yueshan joins the fight on Morus Island on November 10 as part of the new season, which comes as Naraka: Bladepoint hits 6 million copies sold worldwide. If you’ve yet to jump in and this looks like your kind of fight, then Naraka: Bladepoint will be 30% off for a week, starting November 11 and ending November 17.

Those who are already playing in Naraka: Bladepoint are also set to get a cool and unusual gift as thanks for their continued support: a recreation of a historic dagger. 24 Entertainment has announced that it is working with the Art Museum of Chinese Ancient Weapons to help restore the Equestrian Blade, a historic dagger with a horse head handle that has been traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. This short sword, a major exhibit of the Pingyao Wentaofang Ancient Weapon Museum, will then be re-created in-game and gifted to players.

For more, check out our Naraka: Bladepoint review, in which we noted that it’s a “refreshing” take on battle royale that is “a genuinely clever spin on the genre’s familiar formula.”

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

IGN is pleased to exclusively reveal that Naraka: Bladepoint’s next character is Yueshan, a hero based on Chinese history.

Yueshan’s design has its roots during China’s warring states period. Developer 24 Entertainment notes that he’s dressed in lamellar armour, and is able to shoulder charge enemies in order to knock them over and land a blow while they’re stuck on the floor.

For his ultimate ability, Yueshan is able to transform into a Terracotta warrior and use a huge, flaming halberd to cut down enemies. You can see him in action in the trailer above, which sees him cutting through enemies and leaving trails of fire with each swing of his polearm weapon.

Yueshan joins the fight on Morus Island on November 10 as part of the new season, which comes as Naraka: Bladepoint hits 6 million copies sold worldwide. If you’ve yet to jump in and this looks like your kind of fight, then Naraka: Bladepoint will be 30% off for a week, starting November 11 and ending November 17.

Those who are already playing in Naraka: Bladepoint are also set to get a cool and unusual gift as thanks for their continued support: a recreation of a historic dagger. 24 Entertainment has announced that it is working with the Art Museum of Chinese Ancient Weapons to help restore the Equestrian Blade, a historic dagger with a horse head handle that has been traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. This short sword, a major exhibit of the Pingyao Wentaofang Ancient Weapon Museum, will then be re-created in-game and gifted to players.

For more, check out our Naraka: Bladepoint review, in which we noted that it’s a “refreshing” take on battle royale that is “a genuinely clever spin on the genre’s familiar formula.”

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Rockstar Games has recreated the iconic "Here we go again" meme from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas using the upcoming Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition. In a tweet, Rockstar said they've turned many memorable moments from the trilogy into GIF form, most notably the endlessly meme-able shot of CJ walking through the alley.

In celebration of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, we've picked out some iconic moments and images from across all three games and published them to our official @GIPHY page.

Simply search #gtatrilogy to spice up the conversation: https://t.co/UrMfyzhdlQ pic.twitter.com/Fifbig1eZa

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) November 9, 2021

Fans are already reacting to the return of the meme, which has been a staple on Twitter since it gained popularity in 2015. Some were simply excited to see the meme remade, while others are worried that the game comes out in less than two days, and Rockstar hasn't shown any uncut gameplay outside of the first gameplay trailer.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition includes remastered versions of three classic GTA games: GTA 3, San Andreas, and Vice City. San Andreas, which includes the origin of the popular meme, is launching separately on Xbox Game Pass.

In addition to the enhanced visuals Rockstar says the games will feature quality-of-life improvements from GTA 5, including, "improvements to targeting and lock-on aiming, updated Weapon and Radio Station Wheels, updated Mini-Maps with enhanced navigation allowing players to set waypoints to destinations, updated Achievements, Trophies, and more."

The trilogy launches later this week on November 11 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC through the Rockstar Games Launcher. If you're deciding what console to play it on, we recently got a look at screenshots of the Nintendo Switch version.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Rockstar Games has recreated the iconic "Here we go again" meme from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas using the upcoming Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition. In a tweet, Rockstar said they've turned many memorable moments from the trilogy into GIF form, most notably the endlessly meme-able shot of CJ walking through the alley.

In celebration of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, we've picked out some iconic moments and images from across all three games and published them to our official @GIPHY page.

Simply search #gtatrilogy to spice up the conversation: https://t.co/UrMfyzhdlQ pic.twitter.com/Fifbig1eZa

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) November 9, 2021

Fans are already reacting to the return of the meme, which has been a staple on Twitter since it gained popularity in 2015. Some were simply excited to see the meme remade, while others are worried that the game comes out in less than two days, and Rockstar hasn't shown any uncut gameplay outside of the first gameplay trailer.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition includes remastered versions of three classic GTA games: GTA 3, San Andreas, and Vice City. San Andreas, which includes the origin of the popular meme, is launching separately on Xbox Game Pass.

In addition to the enhanced visuals Rockstar says the games will feature quality-of-life improvements from GTA 5, including, "improvements to targeting and lock-on aiming, updated Weapon and Radio Station Wheels, updated Mini-Maps with enhanced navigation allowing players to set waypoints to destinations, updated Achievements, Trophies, and more."

The trilogy launches later this week on November 11 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC through the Rockstar Games Launcher. If you're deciding what console to play it on, we recently got a look at screenshots of the Nintendo Switch version.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Netflix is looking to expand its Japanese offerings on its service by adding more anime as well as live-action shows. One of them will be a live-action Yu Yu Hakusho series that will arrive in 2023.

Yu Yu Hakusho is a manga by Yoshihiro Togashi and the anime series was created by Studio Pierrot. It follows a young kid named Yusuke Urameshi who dies when he gets hit by a car trying to save a child. As a delinquent, this sudden act of kindness grants him a chance at revival. After passing a few tests in the Afterlife, Yusuke then becomes a spirit detective, investigating paranormal activities back on Earth.

In Japan, Netflix Japan Festival 2021 has already started, and the company has announced some more brand new live-action titles coming to the streaming service. They include:

The newly announced live-action titles are:

• Love Like The Falling Petals film (March 23, 2022)
• Love is Blind: Japan (February 2022)
• Last One Standing (unscripted series, March 2022)
• Toma Ikuta documentary (Spring 2022)
• Alice in Borderland Season 2 (2022)
• First Love series (2022)
• Yu Yu Hakusho series (2023)
• Once Upon a Crime film (no date)
• Gundam film (no date)

Some newly announced anime series are coming too:

• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean (December 1, 2021)
• Aggretsuko Season 4 (December 16, 2021)
• The Orbital Children (January 28, 2022)
• Tiger & Bunny 2 (April 2022)
• Kakegurui Twin (August 2022)
• The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh (2022)
• Kotaro Lives Alone (2022)
• Vampire in the Garden (2022)
• Ultraman Season 2 (2022)
• Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure (2022)
• Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanazawa and Detective Conan: Zero’s Tea Time (no date)

We already got to see an image of Netflix's live-action Mobile Suit Gundam movie, which features the RX-78-2 model in flames. In terms of the anime announcements, Tiger & Bunny first got its anime debut in 2011, so it's exciting to see it pop up again a decade later. Ultraman's legacy goes all the way back to the 1960s, and it got an anime series on Netflix in 2019.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Netflix is looking to expand its Japanese offerings on its service by adding more anime as well as live-action shows. One of them will be a live-action Yu Yu Hakusho series that will arrive in 2023.

Yu Yu Hakusho is a manga by Yoshihiro Togashi and the anime series was created by Studio Pierrot. It follows a young kid named Yusuke Urameshi who dies when he gets hit by a car trying to save a child. As a delinquent, this sudden act of kindness grants him a chance at revival. After passing a few tests in the Afterlife, Yusuke then becomes a spirit detective, investigating paranormal activities back on Earth.

In Japan, Netflix Japan Festival 2021 has already started, and the company has announced some more brand new live-action titles coming to the streaming service. They include:

The newly announced live-action titles are:

• Love Like The Falling Petals film (March 23, 2022)
• Love is Blind: Japan (February 2022)
• Last One Standing (unscripted series, March 2022)
• Toma Ikuta documentary (Spring 2022)
• Alice in Borderland Season 2 (2022)
• First Love series (2022)
• Yu Yu Hakusho series (2023)
• Once Upon a Crime film (no date)
• Gundam film (no date)

Some newly announced anime series are coming too:

• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Stone Ocean (December 1, 2021)
• Aggretsuko Season 4 (December 16, 2021)
• The Orbital Children (January 28, 2022)
• Tiger & Bunny 2 (April 2022)
• Kakegurui Twin (August 2022)
• The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh (2022)
• Kotaro Lives Alone (2022)
• Vampire in the Garden (2022)
• Ultraman Season 2 (2022)
• Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure (2022)
• Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanazawa and Detective Conan: Zero’s Tea Time (no date)

We already got to see an image of Netflix's live-action Mobile Suit Gundam movie, which features the RX-78-2 model in flames. In terms of the anime announcements, Tiger & Bunny first got its anime debut in 2011, so it's exciting to see it pop up again a decade later. Ultraman's legacy goes all the way back to the 1960s, and it got an anime series on Netflix in 2019.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

There's no better way to spruce up your aging superhero than by giving him a salt-and-pepper beard. That's my philosophy anyway, and apparently, the concept artist for a cancelled Batman game agrees.

Goran Bukvic, a freelance concept artist in the video game and film industry, revealed a batch of concept art for what was supposed to be a new Batman game. He also revealed the concept art of a more high-tech Batsuit that bears some resemblance to the Batman Beyond suit.

"Project Sabbath", a canceled Damian Wayne Batman game at WB Games Montreal, apparently has another wave of concept art revealed - this time by concept artist Goran Bukvic. The images match how the game was first described years ago.

Credit to Reddit user thebananapeeler2. pic.twitter.com/TelAZeMVMj

— The Arkham Channel (@ArkhamChannel) November 9, 2021

Bukvic's credits include work on Gears 4 and 5, Halo 4, Tomb Raider, and films like Jurassic World 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy.

On his ArtStation, Bukvic notes the Batman concept art was done for a canceled game "a long time ago." On his LinkedIn, Bukvic lists a canceled game called "Batman: The Dark Knight" among his many credits, plus stints at Warner Bros. Montreal in 2015 and 2016.

Bukvic may be describing the canceled 2006 PS3/Xbox 360 game by the same name. That game was being published by EA and developed by Pandemic Studios (Star Wars: Battlefront, Destroy All Humans) as a tie-in to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight film, with development beginning before filming had begun.

It's also possible that the concept art could come from Bukvic's time at Warner Bros, which acquired the Batman video game license from EA. Bukvic worked from April to September 2015 on an unannounced game, and then returned from June 2016 to October 2016 to work on character designs for an "unannounced AAA title."

That timeline matches up with the rumored canceled Arkham Knight sequel. Previous leaks indicated that players would fill the shoes of Damian Wayne taking over for an aging Bruce Wayne. Interestingly, one of the tidbits of leaked info was that a new Batcycle would be a drivable vehicle, and Bukvic's art includes a sleek motorcycle that certainly fits the bill.

It's unlikely we'll see Bukvic's art come to life in WB Montreal's next Batman project, Gotham Knights, which is currently scheduled to release sometime in 2022. The official pitch for Gotham Knights is that Batman's proteges (including Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood) come together to defeat the Illuminati-like Court of Owls following Batman's supposed death. As we all know, comic book heroes tend to not stay dead, so perhaps there'll be room for a bearded bat in the end.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/batfan for IGN.